In 2024, 71 Town of Collingwood employees made it onto the Ontario Sunshine List, a bump up from the 63 that made the list in 2023 and 61 in 2022.
The Sunshine List is the unofficial title given to the province's public salary disclosure, which requires the salary of any public servant making $100,000 or more per year to be declared and published annually.
The Town of Collingwood released their disclosure list prior to the province publishing the full disclosure.
At the top of the list again last year was the town’s chief administrative officer, Sonya Skinner, with a salary of $247,253.29 and taxable benefits of $9371.38. That's a little higher than her 2023 salary of $241,245.54 and taxable benefits of $9,454.65.
The next highest earner at town hall was Amanda Pegg, executive director of customer and corporate services, whose salary is listed at $195,908.69 and taxable benefits of $1,432.78. Following Pegg is Collingwood Fire Chief Dan Thurman, whose salary is listed at $171,302.31 with benefits of $5,286.94.
The town clerk, Sara Almas made $164,527.69 last year with $737.06 in taxable benefits.
Rounding out the top-five earners with the town in 2024 was the director of planning, building and economic development Summer Valentine making a salary of $164,237.89 last year and $1,200.16 in taxable benefits.
Including the chief, there were 27 Collingwood Fire Department employees on the Sunshine list this year – nearly the same as last year – with salaries ranging from $157,707.68 for Deputy Chief Stephen Emo, down to $106,000 for a firefighter second class.
Other town staff on the disclosure list were directors and managers for town departments, which include:
- Treasurer Jennifer Graham: $131,568.51 and $1,142.90 in benefits
- Collingwood Public Library CAO Ashley Kulchycki: $122,017.40 and $1,032.49 in benefits
- Director of public works, engineering and environment Peggy Slama: $156,516.91 and $1,224.23 in benefits
Since the Sunshine List was established in 1996, the threshold for disclosure (salaries of $100,000) has not changed. According to the government of Ontario website used for Sunshine List disclosure, the Canadian Consumer Price Index has increased by 54 per cent between 1996 and 2020.
If the original threshold established in 1996 followed inflation, the 2018 Ontario list would be reduced by 87 per cent (from 205,470 people in 2020 to 26,245 people). There were 4,494 people on the Sunshine List when it came out in 1996.
To see the full Collingwood list, click here.